No sooner had they finished lapping up the ice cream from May's Improv Cooking Challenge; the boys were asking what the ingredients were that Kristen had chosen for June's Challenge. (They love to watch contestants' reactions when emptying the basket ingredients for "Chopped" on the Food Network.)
When I told them cherries & almonds they gave me all kinds of yummy ideas; the youngest pleading for Cherry Almond Biscotti. Because the house heats up when I bake during the summer, I decided to whip up something that didn't use the oven. My thoughts turned to a gluten-free dessert based on crêpes & pastry cream. Because I am avoiding processed sugar, I decided to attempt making each with honey, instead.
The cherries we found at Sprout's were quite delicious as is, but I knew I needed to make a sauce to "drape" over the filled crêpes.
After pitting & stemming the fruit, they were cooked slightly on the stove with a little honey & water.
The pastry cream process frightens some people. There's something about not tempering the eggs correctly & ending up with scrambled eggs in a sweet milk sauce that scares me...
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| (important to whisk the cornstarch & salt in smoothly!) |
But I braved it.
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| honey & milk! |
The most difficult part was trying to document the process pictorially with one hand while whisking with the other!
Turned out just fine!
I found my Honey Pastry Cream recipe here. It looked to be quite delish; but I used 2 whole eggs instead of 4 yolks because we don't like things tasting too eggy around here (& we're filling crêpes, for cryin' out loud...) Turned out sweet & creamy -- I'll probably use a little less honey next time (and there will be a next time!) I make it.
For the crêpe-making I used my vintage crêpe-maker.
Unbelievable easy!
(sorry for the "steamy" pics...)
The most difficult part of this process was keeping the almond flour mixed in -- so I stirred the batter in between forming each crêpe.
The flavor of the almond crêpes can be enhanced by adding almond extract, if so desired. I've come to a point in my taste buds' lives where I enjoy natural flavors. (Thus, I added no vanilla flavoring to either my cherry sauce or the pastry cream...)
The almond crêpe does not handle exactly the way regular flour ones do. But I managed to roll them easily enough without too much cracking.
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| (gotta brown the other side...) |
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| (forgot to stir the pastry cream after it chilled) :( |
Did NOT have a problem eating them, however...
YUM!
(sigh)
HEY! Check out what the other "Improv-ers" came up with:
Nice choice! And I love the vintage crepe maker. I'd have a hard time not keeping him on my counter and referring to him as M'sieur Crepe all of the time. :)
ReplyDeleteLove these!! I hadn't even thought about the possibility of gf crepes. I am going to have to give these a try!!
ReplyDeleteThese look so delicious!Your pastry cream looks wonderful, and I am looking forward to trying your recipe. I laughed when I read about your son wanting Cherry Almond Biscotti~that's exactly what I made! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, these look fantastic!!! I always forget about making dessert crepes and you've inspired me with your delectable recipe!!!!
ReplyDeleteElisabeth
ReplyDeleteCreative use of Almonds and Cherries. I like your step-by-step pictures and recipe cards.
The crepes look delicious.
Thank You for stopping it at my blog. Your comment made my day!
I love this dish. Crepes are special to me.
ReplyDeleteI love your vintage crepe maker! Very cool! Also, I like that you chose to make a recipe that requires keeping the oven turned off during the summer months. I made the same decision (though it was difficult knowing I wouldn't be having cake).
ReplyDeleteOh what a beautiful and luscious dessert! And I think I could become obsessed with your honey pastry cream! Your photos are so pretty, too! : )
ReplyDeleteOf all the posts on the challenge this is my favorite!!! I adore crepes! You can come over and make these for me anytime! Please come and check out my post! #32 Black Forrest Parfaits
ReplyDeleteWow, these look amazing! I LOVE crepes!
ReplyDeleteNice! Crepes are one of my favorite things and you've taken them to a whole new level with pastry cream, cherry sauce and almond flour! That pastry cream looks amazing. Have I mentioned how much I love that pastry cream? LOL Great job!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! That honey pastry cream sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteOh my this sounds great! I want to make it right away!
ReplyDelete